Choose Level
by CrtAltDel
Summary: Many universes have tales that need to be told, and stories that need to be written. Many universes differ from what we call the canon, the reality, and the truths that bring together what we enjoy and what we see. A window opens up that allows you to see what we see... what sort of realm lies beyond the gate? Suggestions for universes and stories are welcome.
1. Level 5 - Unlock Character, Rebellion

**Type:** One Shot  
 **Universe:** Rebellion!Verse  
 **Level:** 5 - Unlock Character

* * *

Everyone had heard of what Master Hand and Crazy Hand had done to Capcom.

It had once been a grand city - distant from Nintendo, but just as large and just as diverse, but to the Hands it was a threat. It had been on the news, no more than ten years ago, and it had made everyone sick upon seeing the footage of the destruction. Not a building had been spared. Not even a single road, or a single tree. Everything had been leveled to the ground in what had to be the most ridiculous display of the Hands' might. In one single day, in one single moment, in less than ten minutes, Capcom was gone and everything that had meant "Capcom" in their lives had been ripped away.

Not a single person lived, as far as everyone in Nintendo was aware. It was enough to set Samus on edge, and she found herself unable to walk the streets alone. She had begun to walk everywhere with either Douglas Falcon or Snake. She had made it adamant that she didn't like it when kids wandered on their own, and soon even her friends were walking in pairs to where they needed to go.

Ten years. It still felt like a scar. It may have hit Samus hard, but it hit Sonic and Mario even more. A long time ago, they had gone on an adventure together with two other people they still spoke fondly of - Mega Man, and Pac-Man. Mario never had a bad thing to say about Mega Man, and the day that Capcom fell, he was all that he talked about. It hadn't been hard to figure out. Clearly Mega Man had lived there once.

Once.

The rebellion had formed against the Hands, sometime after Capcom fell. It was a shame that it had taken three years to get to it. That an entire city had to fall and the scars to be left before anyone would step up and do something. That people had to run away from cities that were slowly dying to live off the streets in Nintendo - like Sonic, like Pac-Man - before anyone figured out they could stand for themselves. But, fittingly, it was Mario that stepped up.

He said he had enough of trying to grasp to a memory of a friend, and felt that it was better that he live up to what his friend would have wanted.

"He wouldn't want me sitting here simply remembering him," he said that night, the twelve of them sitting in his basement. "Mega Man would want me to stand up for everyone that had been hurt, for everyone that could be hurt, and I think it's time we smash them for this."

It was Douglas' idea to call themselves the Smashers.

From there, they rebelled. All twelve of them - and it was grand. Together, they stood up tall for the misjustice granted to Capcom, to those that fell when the city did. To Mario's friend. Soon, they gained other followers, too. And those friends brought their friends. And now, here they stood, with they called the Four Generations of Smashers, and Samus was certain that they weren't done bringing themselves together. As Mario said, the fourth generation was not yet completed, and she knew he had plans to add more to their ranks.

Villains. Heroes. They were all working together for one cause.

* * *

 _ **Present Day.**_

 _The Smashers have infiltrated what they believe is a lab designed for the building of the Polygons, the Wireframes, and the Alloys. It is believed that the Hands have gathered intel to build a new type of Alloy with the ability of blending into the crowds around them, if the anonymous tip is to be believed. Information like this would be vital to stopping the new form of Alloys if they can prevent it._

 _If the Alloys infiltrate the civilians, it would be bad news indeed._

 _According to Fox and Falco, the laboratories are in the basement. A small group of Smashers consisting of Zero Suit Samus, Snake, Mario, Sonic, Falco, and the female Robin, have infiltrated the building. They were noticed midway through their trek, and have retreated to a room to gather their surroundings._ _They must now come up with a battle plan._

 _Except..._

* * *

The room they had slammed themselves in was dark save for a few strange tubes that glowed an ominous, sickly green colour. Snake bolted the door, and kicked it when the Alloys started banging on it, clearly demanding they leave. He leaned against it then and took out a cigarette, as everyone else watched his actions. He was clearly annoyed and angered at their being caught, but there wasn't much else that they could do about the situation and they all knew it.

"Damn wimps," he muttered under his breath. "They sound more scared of us being in this room then us being here in the first place."

"Shouldn't every room have a light switch?!" Falco yelled out then, dragging his feathered fingers across the wall. "I can't see a thing in this place, I need light!" His hand swept across something then and he gave out a yelp of excitement, flipping it.

The lights turned on, blaring into all their eyes like sharp daggers for a moment before they were even able to look at the situation. Samus opened her eyes to look at the room, seeing it properly for the first time. A couple of desks sat around one wall, and when she looked at them, she noticed they were notes, concepts, designs, and... observations? Blueprints were all over the desk farthest from the door, an eerie diagram of what appeared to have once been an Alloy, vivisected and researched intensely. Another blueprint sat next to it, with the name of it being called a "Mii".

"... They've already started their progress on the new Alloys," she informed, turning to look at the others. Robin wasn't even paying attention, as she turned to look at something else, blinked, and then approached it. The others, however, came up to Samus immediately. "They're going to call them... Miis."

"Miis?" Mario asked, dumbfounded. "Like their Wii cannon, but the W upside down?"

"Sounds like how Wario and Mario are basically the first letter switched," Sonic observed. "The Hands probably couldn't help themselves with the reference, so they went and did it." He crossed his arms at the idea. "How's the design look? Complete, first draft? Or what?"

Samus held out the offending blueprint.

Snake glanced at it. "Looks like a first draft design. They're probably trying to figure out how to implement the technology into one, human-like shape. It'd be difficult." He snorted. "Course, they killed the only men that would probably be able to help them. Dr. Light and Dr. Wily were fiercely intense in this kind of stuff - human like robots, the size of _children_ able to destroy entire buildings." He sneered then. "Maybe it's a good thing. They won't be able to figure it out on their own."

"The tech was highly guarded, wasn't it?" Falco commented. He, too, crossed his arms and tilted his head at the blueprints. "The design's too clunky - the Alloy would be too easily noticed."

"Guys..." Robin suddenly voiced from a corner.

She went unnoticed, as Samus turned the paper around to look at it. "We should probably take these for Douglas to look at. If we can steal all their data, then we can spare them the humiliation of these things going to the streets."

"Yeah, well..." Sonic began.

" _Guys!_ " Robin screamed out, and everyone turned to her immediately. She had moved so she was next to Falco, and looked particularly freaked out to the point everyone else was concerned. "Guys, I found something. It's really important."

"Please tell me you didn't find a vent and those losers can get in here," Snake quickly said. He gave a long sigh of relief when Robin shook her head. "Oh, thank God."

"Then what is it?" Mario asked. "You look... worried."

"Yeah," Sonic added. "When you're worried, we all get a little freaked out. So spill it out."

Instead of saying anything, Robin merely pointed a finger at the direction of the back wall, and retreated towards it. Sharing nervous and freaked out glances, the other five moved to join her. She stopped before one of the strange, green tubes, and gestured toward a small clearing on the fogged up glass. Samus realized she must have rubbed away the condensation in order to see what was inside, as clearly this tube had something inside it. It was the only one with a shadowed form sitting inside.

Falco and Sonic fought to see who should go first to peer inside, pushing each other forward and quickly retreating to push the other. Mario took a step back. Samus turned to Snake.

"I ain't looking," he told her. "What if it's a dead Alloy or somethin'? I don't want to look at that."

Samus gave a sigh. "I'll look."

Everyone stopped, looking at her in surprise, admiration, and worry.

"Hey, I'll be fine," she remarked. "Robin managed to look inside, so I'm doing it, too."

She took a deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out. Pause. And then, she calmly stepped forward, prepared for anything. That vivisected Alloy. A half-constructed Mii. Maybe even something unrelated to the research and there was just a dead body. Peering into the hole in the condensation, Samus looked inside.

And promptly stepped back in disbelief.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Is that...?!"

She looked back inside. Sure enough, something was staring back at her. Lit up eyes, blue in colour, flickered back at her, though there were cracks in one eye - the creature's left, it seemed - and dead pixels around them. The rest of the figure seemed to be nothing but a big blob of shadow, implying it was sitting there in the tube, somewhat cramped. It likely hadn't moved since it had been placed there.

"It blinks, too!" Robin said, a crack in her voice. Samus watched as the figure did just that. "Whatever it is, it's alive and I don't know what to do."

"The new Miis aren't designed so far with _light up_ eyes," Samus pointed out, crossing her arms and looking away from the creepiness. "I don't know what we should do, either."

"What's in there?" Falco asked then.

"It seems to be a robot of some kind, or something with light up eyes. One eye's broken, though," Samus answered. She looked at Snake. "You have a look. You're usually pretty good at judging things. Is it bad, so we should leave it there... or is it good, so should we get it out?"

Snake gulped as everyone else turned to him to check out the strange figure. He stepped up to the tube and peered in, reeling back just as Samus did, a swear word uttered out of his mouth that made Mario and Sonic raise their eyebrows. He straightened and placed a hand to his head, before peering back in to take a closer look.

"... _He's_ clean, Samus. Doesn't look properly operational, though," was Snakes words.

"...He...?" Sonic asked.

"Holy mother of everything, though," Snake continued, talking over Sonic. He turned to Samus, an expression on his face that she had never seen. "Find a way to open this thing, we're taking him with us."

Robin nodded and turned to the desk behind her. "There's something around here, that was a button like thing."

She fiddled around with the desk for a moment, Samus watching as Snake merely muttered swear words and expressions of disbelief under his breath. Everyone else watched in awe at Snake's change of behaviour, just as the tube began to lift up into the ceiling. A fog came out from underneath the glass as it lifted, and it overcame everyone's senses for a moment as Snake pushed through and held out a hand to the waiting figure.

"Come on!" he called out. "Take my hand! We're going to get you out of here!"

"That is a different greeting than what your superiors have given me," came a reply, and Samus felt her heart stop.

She'd heard that voice before. In the old clips that Mario and Luigi had on film in the basement of their home, she had watched the adventure that Mario had gone on with Sonic, Pac-Man and Mega Man. The tone was just as youthful, but it was more monotone that what she had heard him use before. But... there was no way. Yet...

Sonic gave out a swear word of his own, then, and he and Mario rushed up to Snake in disbelief.

" _Mega Man!?_ " Sonic cried out, collapsing before the figure just as the fog cleared, who gave out a deadpanned "Hello" as the hedgehog carefully took a hand. "Oh, thank the everlasting high heavens, you're alive!"

There, sitting on where the tube had once been, was a boy dressed in blue, sitting in a cramped position. His eyes wide and matching his outfit, he looked at everyone with a look of complete apathy and disinterest, not a touch of emotion of his face. His left eye, as Samus had observed earlier, was damaged with cracks going from the top to the bottom, dead pixels all around the screen. Now that she had a better look at him, she could see that his armor was damaged in quite a few places as well - his right leg in particular had wires sticking out, as did his left arm. His wrists on both his hands appeared to be damaged as well. This was him, though. No doubt about it. This was Mega Man.

"I have not been referred to that in some time," stated Mega Man in a monotone voice. "But you know that name, and you're the first in a while. I assume your companions are here for more of the experiments? Your attempts will be as successful as last time."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Sonic said with a crack in his tone, as Mario covered his own face with his hands. "Why's your override active?!"

"Override?" Falco asked in confusion.

It was Mario that answered, his voice muffled by his hands. "Dr. Light programmed Mega Man with an override that would come into place if anyone tried to steal the data stored on him... They all had it..."

"It's active," Sonic added, a seething tone now in his voice. "It's _active_. That means these freaks have been trying to poke their little pitchforks inside of his head! I'm going to tear them all apart!" He put his hands on Mega Man's shoulders, being mindful of the damage. "Are you okay?! What did they do to you?! And what the heck happened to your eye?!"

"I am not programmed to respond to those kinds of questions," Mega Man voiced. Samus could almost hear a bored sigh alongside it. "Please refrain from asking further questions regarding my programmed status. As I told your superiors, this is why I set up these barriers you're trying to take down."

"No, you don't understand!" Sonic cried. "I'm trying to make sure you're okay! I thought you were dead for ten years, Megs! _Ten years!_ "

"You are behaving as if I should know you." At his words, Robin gasped.

"That's because you do! I'm Sonic, remember?!"

Mega Man tilted his head. "Incorrect. I have no datalogs of someone matching your appearance." And now, Robin gave a sad whine.

Samus felt a small twitch in her heart at the entire sight before her. Sonic looked like he was ready to cry, his hands still on Mega Man's shoulders. If she didn't know any better, and if Sonic wasn't worried about damaging his friend even more, one would think he'd start violently shaking Mega Man as if it would help. Mario still had his face in his hands, still coming to terms with what they had found. And really, Samus didn't blame him. For ten years everyone said nobody lived through the damage of Capcom. For ten years everyone that had lived there was presumed dead. For ten years they mourned the boy they looked at as if he was their kid brother. For ten years that boy was here, being experimented on for who knows what reasons.

"I've got to be somewhere in there," Sonic sighed, looking at his friend closely. "You know it. You just sealed them all in a can, and I can't remember how to undo it because you won't."

"I started the override merely because my data was violated," Mega Man explained with a blank face. He tilted his head. "You seem to have an understanding of how my programming works. This is odd, as you are the first one in a while. You seem to be a first for many things."

"Mega Man, come on!" Sonic exclaimed. "You've got to remember! If not me, at least Mario!"

"Clearly I am faulty," was the next set of words to come out in a deadpan. "Perhaps I have reached my limit of use to you. I am just a robot."

"Mega Man!" Mario exclaimed then, standing up. Sonic looked at him head on, clearly at a loss of what to say now. That was fine, as Mario knew what to say now. "No... Rock! Rock, listen to me! You're not faulty - you're not just a robot, you are so much more than that and you know it. And... I have something very important to say to you." Mega Man turned to regard Mario, though Samus assumed it was just to be polite. Mario narrowed his eyes at the robot, before taking a deep breath. " _The Blues came before the Rock and Roll._ "

Suddenly, the robot's blue eyes widened, though his left, cracked eye didn't dilate as much. A hard, whirring sound came from somewhere in his head. Samus blinked at the sight, watching as Sonic backed away then, letting go of his friend. Everyone present watched as he sat there, relaxing his position as he was no longer contained by the walls of the tube he had been sitting in likely for ten years. Just as the sound of computers silenced, he closed his eyes, lowering his head. The room then went quiet, save for the pounding of the Alloys on the other side of the door.

Snake narrowed his eyes as he turned to the door. "We should probably get moving. Be careful handling him - he's heavily damaged and we need to figure out how to repair him." He turned back to Mario. "What magic did you work, there?"

All eyes turned to the relaxed form of Mega Man, each set curious save for two. Mario smiled as he watched the robot carefully. "I used his passphrase. Dr. Light had wired it into his programming as a way to turn off his override. He's restarting his systems now."

"I had totally forgotten it," Sonic admitted. "Man, do I feel dumb now..."

"How long will it take for him to finish setting up?" Snake asked then. "Because we have to get moving and I need to know how long we're going to have to lug him around."

"We might have to carry him around either way," Robin pointed out then. "Look at that damage!"

Sonic and Mario took closer looks at the damage that marked their friend all over. Sonic found himself gulping at the sight. "... I don't even... I think some of these might be from when Capcom exploded! Some of them just look too old! Gah, I'm going rip these guys' throats out!"

"Thankfully most of it looks like armor damage with little internal damage," Falco pointed out as he came up closer to inspect. "I mean, yeah the wires sticking out are a little worrying but I'm sure I can whip up something if they're bad." He gave a smile to Mario and Sonic. "Don't worry - I'll team up with Fox, and Captain Falcon, and anyone else who thinks they can help. You won't lose him a second time."

Samus blinked then. "Actually, I'll be able to help, too."

"See? Even Samus Aran is on the case!" Robin laughed. "Mega Man joins the battle!"

* * *

The task of carrying the restarting form of Mega Man fell to the joint effort of Mario and Sonic. From what Samus could tell, it didn't seem to be an easy one, as the robot was apparently pretty heavy due to the hardware inside of him, and the two hadn't necessarily moved him around like this before. It made sneaking around the laboratory somewhat difficult, but with Snake, Samus and Falco up front and Robin bringing the thunder from behind, they didn't run into too much trouble. Breaking out from the place they had broken in had been easy.

And better yet, they had all the information they had gone for. Now they were sitting out front in a bus station waiting for the rain to stop, as it had been pouring out when they had managed to get out. Unfortunately, the taxi they had called for had gotten lost on the way there, so there was no one to come pick them up right away, so Samus was trying to get Meta Knight on her comlink. It was proving to be a daunting task. No one was answering on the Halberd, which was either a bad sign or an irritant. Most of the time, Meta Knight was busy on the Halberd trying to entertain Kirby as he had randomly visited. It typically happened once every two days or so - sometimes once a day. That was the irritating part. The bad one could be that they were infiltrated, but she highly doubted it.

"Meta Knight's out," she finally decided, turning to the others who were trying to stay dry. "I'm going to see if I can get a hold of Douglas. How's our newcomer?"

At her words, she watched as Sonic and Mario turned to the still form resting on the bench underneath the bus shelter, his eyes still closed. Mario approached and put a hand to Mega Man's head, a small smile on his face.

"... He's cooling down," he reported. "Most likely he'll wake up shortly."

"I hope this _rain_ stops shortly!" Robin brought up. Her hair was damp and sticking to her face, but her beautiful Plegian coat was drenched and clearly weighing her down. "There's no way I'm going to be dry by the time we get home. Aw, man... Rufure is going to kick my behind for getting it soaked..."

Samus rose an eyebrow at that. Robin was one of two Robins - one male, one female. They had come from two different universes of a timeline, both that were remarkably the same, but with one difference - their gender. They were both a fish out of water here. Typically when they were alone, everyone just referred to them by their original name to save them the trouble, but when they referred to each other or were together in the same room, they adopted completely new names, Rufure and Reflet. Samus wasn't sure who came up with the names, but she was glad that they did. It was hard enough with the two Pits and Zelda and Sheik, and the Links.

"It's cool," Sonic laughed. "No one predicted the rain from nowhere."

Snake muttered under his breath as he fiddled with a small device in his hands.

"It's still annoying," Falco grumbled.

"He's waking up!" Mario suddenly announced.

The sounds of a computer came to Samus' ears and she turned to see Mario and Sonic hovering over Mega Man, who was slowly sitting up. His eyes activated and bright, she could see the damage in his left eye more clearly than she had inside the base. She almost wanted to wince at the sight of it - if he had been human, she didn't doubt that it would have hurt like hell. She watched as he tested moving everything, but it was evident that not everything - especially his hands - were complying with his demands.

"... What happened?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth. "I remember buildings falling and Elec Man pushing me out of the way..." Suddenly, he gasped. "Elec Man! Mario, Sonic! What happened?! Where's Elec Man?"

There was silence. When Samus looked at the others, she saw Snake looking away in shame and Robin looking like she was about to cry.

"Megs..." began Sonic. "... We need to have a long chat about what happened. But first... what's your damage? You look terrible, buddy."

Mega Man paused for a moment. "I seem to have sustained a lot of armor damage and some minor inner damage to my limbs' wiring, especially my wrists. I am also very low on battery power, it seems I lost some in my sleep. It appears I've also had multiple malware loaded into my computers and at least one trojan virus, but they're gone now... And I can't really see out of my left eye, there seems to be a massive crack? I'm confused..."

Sonic gulped. "Man... This is bad."

"I'll be fine," Mega Man assured him. "Samus is here. Pretty sure Dr. Light told her a bit about how I run... are am I thinking of someone else?"

"You're thinking of me, don't worry," Samus explained with a sigh as she approached. "I think I can at least get you walking again so we can get you back to the mansion, I just need to get a hold of Douglas first." She groaned as she tried to connect with the Blue Falcon. She got a busy signal as a result. "He's not answering."

"Whatever's going on over there, it must be one heck of a party," Robin said with a smile. "Maybe we should just walk."

"But it's _raining_ ," Falco complained.

"Get over it!" everyone else but Samus and Mega Man yelled back.

* * *

Mega Man was walking.

Mario and Sonic walked behind him a short distance, prepared at any moment to rush forward to help in case of a stumble from their dear friend, which he did often. Samus didn't blame him - he'd spent God knew how long inside of that cramped little tube, in that cramped little position, with those damaged, sabotaged limbs. It was a miracle he was able to walk even after she had fixed the damage to the best of her current ability with limited resources. The rain was beginning to let up, and she could already see the clouds beginning to disperse, letting the blue sky show. It was still a bit dark and damp, but at least they wouldn't be wandering in complete rain.

Robin was asking Mega Man what seemed to be a rather extensive and extreme version of Twenty Questions, however. He was glad to provide the answers as he understood them - questions ranging from his ability of thought to his concept of problem solving were questioned, to which he gave honest answers. The conversation between the two had done a good job of distracting Samus during the incredibly long walk they had, and she greatly appreciated it.

"You know," she heard Robin begin, "we were in that place we found you because we got an anonymous tip about the Miis!"

"The Miis?" Mega Man paused for a moment. "What are those?"

"We think they had you to use a base for stronger and more durable robots, little buddy," said Sonic from behind them. He gave Mega Man a calm smile when he got a concerned look. "Don't worry - they got nothing off of you."

The sun was breaking out by that point, and Mega Man stopped. Everyone stopped when he did, looking at him with concern. It had been obvious when he had awoken in that bus terminal that he didn't remember what had happened - minor bits and pieces of Capcom's destruction had slipped through, but he didn't remember the encounter in the lab at all. But, instead of Mega Man looking at them all in horror, he was looking up at the sky.

Samus looked up as well, and was greeted by the warm sun hitting her face. It felt nice - like a welcome home, like a thank you from the world, like a good morning.

Mega Man held his arms out, and closed his eyes. "I feel... happy. For some reason, I don't think I've been this happy for a long time." He gave out a weak laugh. "I don't know what happened, or how I came to be with you guys... I'm still in the dark about what happened to Elec Man, but I know I'm here now and happy now because of something you did." He turned to the others, his smile widening. "So... So, thank you."

And for the first time in a long time, Mega Man cheerfully chatted with Mario and Sonic about the goings-on in the world. Though, Samus noticed they edited out a lot of the dark stuff. She didn't really blame them.

He was the happiest he'd been since Capcom fell. He deserved it.

* * *

 _Authoress' Notes_

I don't even know, I was having difficulty with the next chapter of _New Game: Press Start!_ due to Fanfiction having difficulty saving my chapter so I had to rewrite it _six times_ so I decided to write what came to mind, and well... this came out, and I just had to finish it into something a little more solid. Who knows. Maybe it will be its own thing someday, even if its not me writing it.

 _Interesting Info:  
_ • This One Shot is brought to you in part by me dying fifty thousand times in _Mega Man V.  
• _The next chapter of _New Game: Press Start!_ is about 75% completed, so no worries, it's still on the way!


	2. Level 17 - Reliable Traitor, Guardian

**Type:** One Shot  
 **Universe:** Guardian!Verse  
 **Level:** 17 - Reliable Traitor

* * *

Long had Master Hand known of the ultimate terror and destruction that his brother, Crazy Hand, could unleash upon the world at any given second. Long had he known that one day, his evil twin would break free of his bonds and destroy the universe they had created together - the single Galaxy known only as the Smash Galaxy. Once, upon a time, Master Hand could trust his brother with the deepest, darkest secrets, and once, he could trust his brother to not destroy what they had created together, this single galaxy revolving around the sun with so many planets marking its worlds and its locations. So much had been created, and now so much could be lost if he didn't do a thing about it.

So Master Hand had chosen twelve warriors from ten of his planets. These warriors, he trained to be able to take him down, since he was so similar to his brother in many ways that he had desired to not be. The warriors passed their tests, and Master Hand set them free into the galaxy to protect it from the creatures his brother was unleashing into the worlds. He watched from a distance, occasionally picking new warriors, until finally the time came.

His brother struck, stealing some of the warriors that he had chosen, warping them into lieutenants for his cause. Master Hand was ashamed, devastated, and silenced. He never told his warriors what they were missing, because he felt that they were lost forever - those warriors twisted and turned, brainwashed and with evil now in their hearts, could never be the Smashers that he had intended them to be.

They were now Crazy's Smashers. And his brother flaunted it in his face every day.

* * *

 _ **Present Day.**_

 _Mario's team has been captured. It seems it's the final stretch against Crazy Hand and his lieutenants, and there isn't much hope left. With Captain Falcon injured and down for the count, the day depends on Mario, Ness, Toon Link, Nana and Popo, and finally, Dr. Mario._

 _Guarding their cage is the mysterious Villager, one of the lieutenants of Crazy Hand, who in turn is guarded by two more, the odd Mega Man, and the powerful, yet short Little Mac. The Villager sits upon a throne, flaunting the key right in the face of the captured Smashers, and eerie grin on his strange, childish face._

 _With seemingly no good outcome for this situation, it finally seems that the Smashers have met their end..._

* * *

Mario winced as Dr. Mario tightened the bandages around Captain Falcon's chest, and the racer cried out. At the cries, the Villager chuckled darkly from his throne, his two guardians standing next to him. Mega Man on the Villager's right stood there with a completely blank expression, where Little Mac had a rather disturbing smirk on his face. Mario wanted to wipe the floor with the Villager's mop of brown hair, and then paint the walls red with the punching gloves on Little Mac's fist, but couldn't think of anything to do with Mega Man if he managed to get of here.

The small boy hadn't done anything so far but comply with the Villager's odd request of food or drink for him and Little Mac, which the plumber had noted, Mega Man had never touched in the two days they had been here. So far, Mega Man was his favourite. The boy was quiet, and was the only one of the three to not mock him and his friends. He hoped it stayed that way.

"Is Captain Falcon going to be okay?" Ness asked with a quivering voice, approaching Dr. Mario with caution.

"Of course not!" the Villager laughed from his throne. "Captain _Fabulous_ went toe on toe with the Rosalina and the Duck Hunt Trio. It's a miracle he's still alive."

Dr. Mario gave them a death glare the size of the Bronx. Mario was proud of his counterpart for such a look. "You're leaving out the part that got him injured in the first place - fighting neck on neck with your swordswoman and her tacticians from Marth's planet. Perhaps you should not leave out information relating to the question asked."

Mario watched as the Villager lost his grin and it turned into a large frown. "Keep it up, Mr. Mario Number 2. I'll send Mega Man over there to teach you a lesson."

Everything quieted after that, and Mario turned back to help Dr. Mario keep Captain Falcon steady as the bandages were being tied up. The children approached for moral support, though it was obvious the four of them were petrified.

"He sure likes to hide behind Mega Man, doesn't he?" Nana pointed out. "I feel sorry for Mega Man."

"Don't," Popo scoffed. "They're the bad guys."

"But he's just their errand boy, and that makes me sad," Nana insisted.

Toon Link muttered something in his strange Hylian dialect that Mario couldn't understand. He hated language barriers, and with the smaller, more adorable Link, only a small handful of the Smashers actually understood him since he spoke a newer version of the Hylian language. He came from the future, so it made a small bit of sense - language evolved with time, after all, and unfortunately, in Toon Link's future, Hyrule was under a vast ocean and most of its knowledge was lost. He even had a different alphabet for writing his name. Thankfully, Zelda quickly grasped his language and had taught it to a few of the others willing to learn.

And, while Mario thanked him for having a big brain, Dr. Mario responded to Toon Link's words, firsts in his accented New Hylian, then in English. "He's not in control of himself. None of them are. They're all victims, not the bad guys."

"What did he say?" Ness asked.

"He asked me if there was a way to convince Mega Man to give us the keys," the Doctor whispered so the Villager and Little Mac couldn't hear. "Unfortunately, they were all supposed to be the new Smashers, but Crazy got to them first. They're just his toys right now. Once he's done, they're getting the flaming boot."

"That ain't right," Captain Falcon groaned. "We have to save them. Lucina and the Robins... God, they were still responding to each other when I fought them? They were still... themselves, doc." The racer attempted to sit up, only to be stopped by Dr. Mario. "Doc, there has to be a way."

"Not a chance in hell," Ness suddenly voiced, his choice of words earning a smack upside the head from Mario. "Look, I can read their minds, okay? And Villager isn't there at all, it's all one hundred percent Crazy Hand in there. There's a bit of Little Mac, but I can't read Mega Man at all. I just try and I get static."

Captain Falcon suddenly gripped Ness' hand. "Let me tell you all somethin' right here and right now... Samus and I, we were on a job way back, and we ran into this old man calling out one of his kid's names out in the street, bein' followed by the other two. Turned out his youngest son seemed to have run off, but it was way out of character for the little guy, so they were all worried." They all watched as the gleaming white triangles that made his eyes under his helmet narrowed. "He asked us to let him know if we ever found him, and he'd pay us to take him home. Samus went looking for weeks until she decided it would be a secondary thing."

"Of course she'd look for weeks," Nana sniffled. "She loves kids."

"But don't tell her that we said that," Popo said in a panicked tone. "We'd get kicked."

Toon Link asked something, and Dr. Mario gave a simple nod. Mario was starting to pick up a few of the more common words or phrases after a year of being with Toon Link - he recognized "son", "father" and "Samus", though the way the small boy used names was odd. Whenever he spoke Samus' name, it came out sounding more like "Samusu", similar to how Marth was "Mars" or, the strangest one of all, Princess Zelda herself, "Zeruda." Dr. Mario had explained that New Hylian was more a mix of Japanese pronunciation and the original Hylian. It was probably why Zelda had picked it up in _two weeks_ , and why Mario was having such difficulty. He could barely speak both of the languages involved.

"Samus wanted to help him so bad," Captain Falcon pointed out then, after a moment of silence. "The three of them looked so frightened, Mario."

"What are you trying to tell us?" Mario asked then.

Instead, Captain Falcon pointed at Mega Man silently. The unspoken words chimed in Mario's head, and inside his heart gave a slight flutter at the realization. _Mega Man_ was that missing son. That boy that Samus had spent five weeks trying to find after that job. The boy that no longer had a mind for Ness to read, that had been reduced to a toy that had to follow every single one of the commands that the Villager gave him. The boy that brought the other two food but didn't dare touch it. Mario gulped. He and the others in here had gotten fed, about six hours ago. Mario, Dr. Mario and the children had been here for almost two days, Captain Falcon only getting here recently. He had never seen Mega Man take a bite of food, despite everyone else eating.

There was no time to muse on a small boy's eating habits, however.

"We have to get Captain Falcon proper medical attention," Dr. Mario muttered to Mario.

"But..." Ness began slowly. "You're a doctor...?" He got another slap upside the head. "Hey!"

"I need proper equipment and tools, not these first aid tools for the field!" Dr. Mario snapped. He then turned to Mario, fire in his eyes and determination etched all over his face. "Try to make a bargain with them."

Mario nodded and got up from his spot, approaching the bars closest to the Villager and his goons. "Excuse me?"

"What?" Little Mac muttered, before spitting onto the ground nearby. It seemed while they were discussing Captain Falcon, the Villager had requested a bowl of chicken wings from Mega Man, and now he and Little Mac were feasting on them as Mega Man sat nearby.

"Our friend requires proper medical care and equipment," Mario explained. "I'm ready to bargain with you as necessary to get that!"

The Villager frowned as he munched on a chicken wing, and Mario could feel his stomach churn in hunger for a moment. "Nah, I can't be bothered." He got up and began to step towards the exit, carrying the bucket with him. "Little Mac, come on, they're not going anywhere with Mega Man watching them. Mega Man!" Mario watched as the boy's attention peaked. "Watch them for me, yeah? We'll be back in a bit, _television entertainment calls_!"

"OH YEAH," Little Mac cheered. And then there was one.

"I don't suppose I can talk with you to get what I need?" Mario requested to the remaining boy. "If my friend can't help Captain Falcon, he might die." His grip tightened around the bars. "We really need that proper medical equipment!"

Mega Man looked up with his blank expression. No words came from his mouth, no movement was made, he just continued to blink and stare.

Mario sighed, frustrated, and turned away for a moment, unsure of what to do.

That is, until Toon Link voiced a few words loudly in New Hylian that made Dr. Mario look up in complete alarm. The boy's outburst also gained the attention of Mega Man, who actually got up and stumbled over. It was clear he had no real balance, and when he approached, Mario saw the reason why - his shoes were remarkably clunky and somewhat large for a boy of his size, but one was also sporting some chains going up his leg that the Smasher's hadn't noticed before. Mega Man stopped right before the bars, and grabbed one of them somewhat weakly.

Toon Link spoke a few more words, and this time Dr. Mario gave him a hit upside the head.

"Watch your language, Link!" exclaimed the Doctor, first in New Hylian, then in English as he always did. "Where did you ever learn that kind of language?!"

Toon Link muttered something that sounded like "Rinebecku".

"... I see," said Mega Man suddenly. His sudden voice caused everyone to jump and turn at him in surprise, not just because they had never heard him speak before, but because of how electronic it sounded. The boy tilted his head then and his eyes moved away, looking up at the ceiling. "You need medical treatment. I am sorry. I cannot offer it. It is not within your rights."

After a translation from Dr. Mario, Toon Link voiced a phrase quickly. Mario didn't catch any words he recognized at all.

"No, that is not it." Mega Man straightened his head and his expression didn't change in the least. "Crazy Hand would not want me to take you out of your cell. That is not what he would wish for me to do." He tilted his head once more. "I have to follow his orders, even if I do not agree with them."

Toon Link muttered something new, and Mario was certain he had caught the word for "choice" or "to choose".

"Choice...?" The word almost sounded like it had been a foreign concept to Mega Man. "I do not have that. I must follow his orders."

"Everyone's got the right to make their own choices," Ness said with a snort, stepping up to the bars and glaring daggers at Mega Man. "You're just making that up. It's a basic right granted to pretty much everyone. Choices are what led us here, just like how you decide to have that chain on your boot."

Mega Man looked away, his eyes darting to the floor. "I do not have a choice. Crazy Hand deemed me dangerous, so he tied me down."

Everyone glanced down at the chain that went up Mega Man's right leg, seeing how tightly it was wound around his shoe and his leg. It was the main reason of his loss of balance and the limping that he had done on the way to the cell, and Mario didn't doubt that it hurt like hell. It was tightly wound around with a padlock attached, though Mario was pretty sure a swift movement of Toon Link's Skull Hammer - carefully aimed, of course - would take care of it no problem. It was the emblem on the lock that gathered the attention of the other Smashers in the cell, the sign of the Smashers themselves - that emblem, of an off-centered cross in a circle, etched in the center of the lock.

Though, it was flipped - the emblem of Crazy Hand, as opposed to Master Hand.

"Why?" Nana asked, her voice whimpering. "What makes you so special that you need the chains?"

Mega Man's eyes darted from the right to the left, then up to the ceiling. "I was stronger than his powers. I could not be manipulated like the others. I had to be tied down. I had to be locked away." Now his eyes went to the floor, then to the lower right, and finally the upper left. His constant eye movements left Mario speechless and uncomfortable. "I have to be told what to do. I cannot make my own decisions. I do not have a choice."

"So the chains seal that all away, then," Ness muttered. "That's just disgusting."

"He was reprogrammed," Captain Falcon muttered. Mario turned to look at him in awe and confusion. "That man...? Dr. Light? His kids are special. They're... They're robots, but they're more than just machines, Mario. They can think, they can feel... they can feel pain, they can feel loyalty..."

Dr. Mario put a hand to his chin. "So because Mega Man was a machine, he didn't have a mind to manipulate - instead he had a harddrive that controlled his movements, his decisions, and his choices. So the chains sealed his programming away and Crazy Hand was able to control Mega Man."

"It was not just me," Mega Man voiced. "Rosalina... Lucina... Palutena... The Robins..."

"All of you have chains like that?" Popo asked.

Mega Man merely looked away. "I said too much..."

"No, no, you're fine," Mario immediately urged, reaching out for the lock that sat on the chains. Mega Man made no movement - most likely because he wasn't told to dodge - and stayed quiet. "You didn't say too much. In fact, you said just the right things. We already knew that Crazy Hand was controlling all of you..." As he spoke, his hand lit up with the power of the Permanent Fire Flower, as granted to him from Master Hand upon his entry into the Super Smash Brothers. "We just didn't know how or how powerfully... I don't know what we can do, but..."

In his hands, the lock melted away, eventually releasing the chains and allowing them to crash onto the floor of the room. Mega Man reeled back, gripping his leg with a pained expression. Mario watched as the small boy tried to soothe down the pain in his leg. None of them knew just how long those chains had been there, or how tight they were - but they looked like they were tighter than necessary. Truthfully, Mario couldn't wait until they freed the others chained with the reasoning that they were too powerful to be controlled.

"... Mega Man?" Ness voiced cautiously. "Are you okay?"

Mega Man looked up once he was spoken to, though to Mario's dismay, no sign of any other emotions aside from neutral and pained flashed across his face. "I will recover..." He stood up, and limped to the cell door, gripping the bars. "Why...? I do not understand."

Mario gave the boy a caring look. "Everyone deserves the right to choose for themselves. I granted you that right, because it had been taken away from you. Now it's up to you, and only you, what you do from here on." The sounds of an approaching voice made him slightly panic. "You can go now, if you want. You can leave and go back to your father."

"But..." began Mega Man. "I do... I do not remember. I know I have a father, but I do not remember him." He looked down, suddenly interested in the tiles of the floor. His darting eyes no longer occurred, as now they were focused and more vibrant than they had been when he was under the influence of the chains. "I must be missing data... So much of my memory is just... gone."

"Then you have a decision you can make," Mario said soothingly. Though the threat of oncoming forces was there, he didn't want to rush the boy to make his first decision. "You can go find your memory, or be free and independent, and make new memories."

The fact that the small boy seemed so conflicted ached at Mario's heart. He didn't blame him - until five minutes ago, the boy didn't realize all the possibilities and the choices that he could have. Suddenly, he had the choice to do what he wished. To do what he wanted. To leave this place and go on adventure. To find his missing memory. To find his father. And yet, the boy didn't remember how to make a choice. To make a wish.

"I will not leave," Mega Man declared then, his hands tightening against the bars. "Not without all of you. Your friend... he requires proper care, right?"

This was a development none of them expected, but Dr. Mario jumped at the chance, standing up and gesturing to his counterpart to help him lift Captain Falcon. "Yes, yes, that's right!" The doctor was stating. "He does, and I know for a fact that Crazy Hand won't be helping us in that category!"

"I know the fastest route out of the building that does not contain a chance of running into the others," Mega Man explained, as he then _ripped_ the door right out. The kids took a cautious step back at the realization that the boy was that strong, terrified of what he could possibly do when angered now that his emotions were active. "Come with me, I'll lead you out."

* * *

It was many hours later that met Mario and Mega Man standing outside of the hospital. Ness and Toon Link stood with them, as the two had long since been kicked out for being destructive and distracting to the hospital staff. The three Smashers were getting ready to bid farewell to the one reason they had managed to escape the hold of Crazy Hand's clutches.

Mega Man had changed out of the uniform that he had been granted by Crazy Hand at the time of his... "recruitment". His change of clothes were articles of clothing donated by the other Smashers - a pair of pants from Mario, a shirt from Captain Falcon, and a brown, tattered cloak of questionable origin donated from Toon Link. Knowing that the boy had regularly broken into fortresses, homes, and mansions, much like the other Links had, Mario had to wonder just where he had gotten the cloak from. It was unfortunate that Toon Link only muttered a "Tetura" when questioned.

However, the clothes all did the job. Mega Man was not even recognizable in the clothes he had received; the only things that were available to identify him now were his clunky shoes that were still too big, and his telling limp and stumbling walk he had gained from his work with Crazy Hand. Captain Falcon had stressed earlier that Mega Man should probably get his leg looked at, figuring that there was damaged wiring or iron work inside thanks to how tight the chains had been. The boy had refused, stating that, though it hurt and his walk was handicapped as a result, he wanted to stay out of reach of laboratories for a bit. Mario didn't blame him.

"So, where are you going to go?" Ness asked then with a smile.

Mega Man was quiet. "I was going to just turn left and see where that takes me..." He looked away. "I am not sure where to start. I do not remember much about making my own decisions."

Toon Link voiced something in a cheeky tone that Mega Man only nodded at. Mario definitely needed to learn New Hylian now.

"It will be nice," Mega Man stated then, looking up at the sky. "For some reason, I look forward to the wandering. One day I may come back and see you again. It... It is good to know that I will be welcome with all of you."

"You're always welcome with the Smashers," Mario said with a smile, holding his hand out. When Mega Man took it, he shook it gently and carefully. "And, if you don't find anyone you trust with that leg of yours, I'm certain Samus can help you out with it."

Mega Man gave the first smile they'd seen him spout since that very first day on the field that they got their first glance of him, his Mega Buster pointed at R.O.B.'s head and ready to fire. It was amazing how much he had changed since that day. "Thank you. I will make sure to remember that."

They watched as he turned around, prepared to leave. He paused, however, before he began to walk away.

"I remember one thing..." he began. "I remember a tune. I am not sure where from, but it seems someone once very close to me used to whistle it. I suppose my first step is to find the whistler of this tune." He looked back the others, though his eyes didn't fully meet with theirs. "I am not sure where to start, but for some reason I am okay with that."

"That's the fun part," Ness voiced with a smile. "Figuring out everything as you go."

Mega Man gave a small nod. "That makes sense. I guess this is... 'See you later'." With that, the boy fully turned away, and began to limp down the road, wandering away. His choice had been made - going on an adventure to discover his lost memories...

... Whistling the tune he wasn't sure he really knew.

* * *

 _Authoress' Notes_

I think I need to stop having bad things happen to Mega Man. It makes me sad and upset and yet I do it all the time. Next one shot will have something good for him, I promise. If it doesn't, someone call me out on it, please.

 _Interesting Info:  
_ • Toon Link's profanity comes courtesy of Linebeck. Toon Link swearing like a sailor is honestly an amazing idea to me and he'll be doing it often in these oneshots. He won't go by Outset due to continuity, however. "Outset" and "Kokiri" are going to be exclusive to New Game: Press Start.  
• However, "Yu" and "Ai" for the Villager names are going to be used throughout the oneshots. It just wasn't used here because Mario, the narrator, doesn't know the male Villager's real name.  
• This one may get a sequel detailing Mega Man's return.


	3. Level 8 - The Highway, On The Run

**Type:** One Shot / Request: Luigi is the Star!  
 **Universe:** OnTheRun!Verse  
 **Level:** 8 - The Highway

* * *

When the Smash Mansion collapsed at their feet, it had been because of Tabuu. He had taken over the realm and everything in it, controlling everything from the computers, internet, and the cable, to the phone lines and the very radio stations that they had available. Not many of the people had rebelled against him due to his power and strength, and he typically left the people alone, staying in his strange realm of Shadows and Subspace, leaving the people to their own devices with the leaders of the world that he had placed in control of everything. Ranging from the Demon Lord Ganondorf himself to the Koopa King Bowser, the world was soon in shambles.

The former heroes of the world, the Smashers as they were being called, were on the run from these people with bounties the size of the largest city on the planet. Some of them had already been snagged and put who knows where, others had been shot and killed as they fled for their lives, shot in the back by police forces put in control by Tabuu. What remained had stolen a recreational vehicle from an old RV shop in Neo Nintendo City, though most of them complained of the tight quarters. And really, no one blamed them for complaining.

It was crowded, it was damp, and most of the time the heating didn't work, so it was also cold, or sometimes too hot. Luigi was certain that if they hadn't had a fridge that they stocked up every time they got gas, they'd also be starving, but thankfully they had Princess Zelda herself to pay for everything. They had picked up a few extra members that hadn't been a part of their little group when Tabuu placed bounties, too, and those people got bounties just for hanging out with them. He was bound and determined though. They had a goal.

They had to get out before they were all dead like his brother.

* * *

 _ **Present Day.**_

 _It is very late on a Sunday afternoon._

 _The RV is stopped due to the driver needing some sleep. As Dr. Mario sleeps away in the back, the others try their best to remain quiet or wander outside to see what they can see and explore. The sky is very beautiful tonight and full of stars: it's the first quiet moment they've had for a while._

 _Luigi is still in the RV, alongside a few of the others: Zelda, the treasurer, Ike, the brawn, Lucas, the orphan, Robin, the tactician, Mega Man, the stray, and Duck and Hunt, two animals they picked up from the city at the same time they picked up Mega Man. Though Luigi has lived with these people for a little under a year, he doesn't know much about them and thus doesn't really know how to talk with them._

 _As the leader, he knows his brother would want him to change that. And so..._

* * *

Luigi watched as Ike and Robin fiddled with the old television set the RV had come with. To be honest, he didn't see the appeal of needing the thing, but the kids when they had all got red flags from the government had brought a few game systems with them, and it'd been keeping most of them entertained as they drove along the road trying to get out of Tabuu's land. It was a shame his reach was so far. He feared they'd never make it out alive, that they'd all end up like his brother and his wife.

He couldn't even bring himself to say "Mario and Peach" anymore, as it just filled him with dread.

He was glad about one thing, though, and that was Link and Marth were able to drag Ness and Toon Link out with the others that had decided to go exploring nearby. The two were so active and alert even though it was literally three in the morning that it was completely ridiculous. Luigi turned to the one child that had decided to remain, Lucas, and noticed that the boy was barely able to stay awake. He was nodding off, trying so hard to stay upright in the chair at the table that it was adorable. Sitting next to him, watching him cautiously should he fall, was the ever alert Zelda, who seemed to only sleep in the mornings when they were on the move.

Dr. Mario, his brother's counterpart, was in the back with Duck and Hunt on duty by the bed. In a way, the presence of his brother's clone was helping Luigi somewhat. Dr. Mario knew what to say in order to help him feel better, and frequently tried his best to include Luigi in any conversations he took part in. But with the doctor overtired and in need of sleep, sitting around in the RV around people he hadn't really come to know well yet was getting kind of... awkward.

So, Luigi stood up. "I... I'm going to head outside..."

"Probably not a good plan," came a sudden voice from behind him, and Luigi turned, scared for a moment, to come face to face with Mega Man. The robot boy, who had once been a dear friend to Mario, now deceased, and was still a friend to Sonic and Pac-Man, now chasing each other up and down the field, wore a smile and was holding a small E-Tank. He snapped the tab open and looked up at Luigi once more. "Outside is actually swarming with those bugs that feed off your blood."

"You mean... mosquitoes?" Zelda said with a laugh. Mega Man and Luigi turned to her with small smiles on their faces. At their expressions, her own smile, having gone wide from the laughter of Mega Man's failed attempt at naming a bug, softened. "You're so cute, Mega Man."

Mega Man gave a laugh. "Yeah, those." He turned back to Luigi, tilting his head. "But yeah. I seem to remember your brother mentioning you're allergic to those things." He took a small sip of his E-Tank before frowning somewhat adorably. "I... I think. To be honest, I think Blues took out some memory chips last time he pummeled me to the ground. He had good reasons - I was having difficulty dealing with... you know..."

"It's hard to believe you're brothers..." Luigi said, his eyes widening in horror. "I am allergic, though... I'm allergic to a lot of things, to be honest..."

"You'll have to tell me all of your allergies sometime, since it is a factor of your health that's at stake if any of us make a mistake," Mega Man worded as he wandered off to the screen door. "For now, I'm off to go join Sonic and Pac, so I'll be back when they come back." The Big Three were still as close as ever, even though they were no longer Four. They always looked out for each other and supported each other in times of need. Mario had been their glue, and with him gone, Mega Man had become it somewhat, always stepping in first when Sonic and Pac-Man could no longer handle each other's snark. When he found himself unable to agree with them, he would back down immediately and become quiet. Obviously, Luigi had realized whenever Mega Man did that, he missed Mario as much as he did.

Zelda pulled out a book as Lucas finally conked out, his face hitting a pillow Luigi hadn't noticed was there. The man in green gave in and sat back down, twiddling his thumbs. Though he was the leader of the group, he always felt sort of awkward in situations like this. He wanted to live up to his brother's ways, to the expectations of others, but he felt that all that he was doing was letting them down, and now...

"Hey, Luigi," came a voice, and Luigi looked up to see Ike. "We got the television up and running and you might want to see this."

Cautiously, Luigi stood back up and sauntered over to Ike and Robin, seeing the fuzzy reception of the television they had finally gotten working. A news reporter sat before a big desk with a collection of papers, the headlines scrolling on the bottom of the screen... discussing the fate of one Roy of Pherae. He could already feel the massive brick forming in his heart, weighing it down to his stomach as the air in his lungs just _stopped_. They had all assumed that Roy had fallen in the attempts to save Ness from the experimentation he had been subjected to when he had been captured some time ago. It was the final, and successful raid they had done on the lab that had led to the supposed end of Roy, when they had finally returned Ness to the waiting hands of Princess Zelda, Toon Link, and Lucas.

But if Roy wasn't dead...

Luigi narrowed his eyes as he thought about it. Now that he recalled, they had never recovered Roy's body. Just as... Just as they had never recovered _Mario's_ body. Or Ryu's... or Mewtwo's... or _Princess Peach_. How many more of their friends, of their allies, had they left to be subjected to this kind of torture?

"Roy's still alive," Ike announced, frustrated. He slammed the remote of the television down on the ground by his feet, turning to Luigi. "Roy's still alive, do you know what this means? He must have been put through the same kind of crap Ness had been through..."

When Ike's eyes met Luigi's stern ones, he silenced immediately. His sudden pause, causing Robin to look up in confusion before he turned to Luigi, also resulted in Zelda looking up from her book, blinking in wonder. Luigi tightened a fist, and with a voice that he didn't believe belonged to him at all, he calmly stated, "Get the others in here, _now._ "

Maybe it was because he had been appointed leader by default due to his relation with Mario. Maybe it was because of his sudden change in posture, the tone in his voice, and the way that his eyes seemed to glare daggers enough to quite literally kill someone, but whatever it was, Ike turned immediately through the RV's door. Robin shut the door that blocked the way to Dr. Mario and sighed contently as he sat beside a still snoozing Lucas, preparing himself for what might be coming from the current leader of the gang. Before too long, Ike returned with everyone else that had been playing outdoors, as Luigi continued to watch the report on what had been happening with Roy.

Silence sat in the RV once he had shut the news off. Silence that was deafening, until finally Sonic broke the code.

"So..." he began softly, looking between Pac-Man and Mega Man. "What's... What's happening? What's going on?"

Luigi was quiet for a moment, before finally he turned to his people, his friends, and his family. "There was a report on the news. Roy's still alive."

Marth gagged. " _What_?"

"Roy's still alive. He's been subjected to questioning and possibly torture to gather information on us, by Tabuu, possibly... possibly others, I don't know." Luigi sighed, his body shaking slightly as he tried to come up with ways to act like Mario, to try and dictate this like Mario, to learn from _Mario_. "All I know is, Roy's still alive and there's a chance that the others... that they're alive, too. And if there's a way to save them, we have to do it." He was quiet for a moment to see if anyone would speak up. When no one did, he narrowed his eyes and continued. "I know that we need to get out of this place as soon as we can... but I would rather we do it all together, and not broken up in shambles."

It was Link that spoke up, looking at Zelda worriedly. "So, what you're suggesting is we double back to where we got Ness? That's a ways away."

"Not to mention the Detour From Hell," Samus muttered under her breath.

Luigi gave both of them a slight glare, silencing them immediately. He turned his attention to the table, silently aware that this had its flaws, it's disadvantages, and put them right back into the oil of the pan when they had just barely escaped the water in the pot. "I understand there's some downsides, but I think this is right... Did we leave Ness in there when we found out where he was?"

"No," Mega Man immediately replied. "We didn't. He's sitting right next to me." When Mega Man had first been introduced by Mario, Ness had been one of the ones to first latch on to him as a guide to the land of Nintendo. As a result, he had been the most adamant on turning back to grabbing him when Ness had captured in the first place.

At those words, Luigi nodded. "Did we leave Sonic to die when he had been beaten and left for dead on the road like a forgotten animal?"

Toon Link exclaimed, "Hell no!" to that, earning himself a whack from Zelda straight afterward. It didn't take a genius that Sonic had taken a liking to the children they were traveling with, and every single one of them always tried to include him in their games during drives.

"And," as Luigi wasn't yet done, "when the rest of Nintendo was turning their torches and pitchforks on Mega Man and Pac-Man, did we leave them to get butchered and killed due to not living up to Master Hand's opinions on what a true fighter means?!"

"No!" Robin had immediately stated. Luigi had recalled that Robin in particular had saved Mega Man that day - and every time Proto Man arrived and the two began to fight, he would always be there to pick Mega Man back up from the asphalt. He had also been the first of the Smashers to give Pac-Man a hand to shake upon his introduction, always willing to make new friends and see the good inside of them.

Seeing their answers and everyone's now darkened faces, Luigi looked between all of them and sighed. "So, tell me this: what makes this any different?"

He watched ad Zelda narrowed her eyes and put a hand to her heart. "It doesn't."

"So," Luigi began as he straightened. "Who's with me?"

The door to the back room opened and Luigi turned in surprise to see Dr. Mario standing there in the doorway. Though he looked slightly tired and not that well rested, he wore a frown worthy of his brother on his face, his eyes narrowed intently and questioning every single look that locked eyes with him. Calmly, the doctor stepped up to Luigi, and the shorter man straightened his back to appear taller. For a moment, there was silence, until finally he spoke.

"One day, I told him," he began. "One day, you would reach he point where you are undoubtedly, the man that everyone knows you are. One day, you would step up and be the leader Mario knew you could be, and that day, Luigi... That day is today." With that stated, the doctor placed his hands on Luigi's shoulders. "And Luigi, I would follow you down to the pits of _Hell_ if it meant whatever cause you were fighting for would win."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ike voiced, getting up from the table. "Let's go kill some bastards and save Roy!"

Luigi nodded, and threw a fist up in the air. "Let's move it, everyone!"

* * *

 _Authoress' Notes_

Got a request for something starring our favourite Mr. Lean and Green, so I decided to go ahead and do it! Luigi does deserve to be the star sometimes, doesn't he? Mario always steals that guy's thunder. It's pretty sad.

 _Interesting Info:  
_ • I have a goal to include at least one of my favourite characters in each little blurb. Those guys would be: Ness, Toon Link, Lucas, Mega Man and Peach. So far I'm on a roll with Mega Man.  
• For this, I had to have a little notepad set up with who was there and who was dead, as I kept forgetting if I had Toon Link in the RV or not, and same for Ness.  
• I understand this one is smaller, but I never intended to show the rescue of Roy. This is about Luigi stepping up to finally, and properly, take his brother's place.


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